Shall i do a phd?

[tim oxford]

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Hi,
I am an American who has just graduated from Oxford medical school. For family reasons I need to stay in the uk for 2/3 more years. I'd like to do rads residency in US.
I have been offered a radiology Phd at Oxford which they think will take 3 years. I am confused whether to take it up or not. The things that worry me are:

1. Does a Phd look good when applying for rads residencies?
2. I'll obviously be 3 years older when I apply for rads? will this shave a detrimental effect on my chances of getting into rads?
3.Will I be looked as a scientist rather than a clinician when i return to the us?
4.Will a Phd limit the types of radiology residencies I can apply for?
5. Would it better to apply for residencies in the UK and do that for 3 years? Would 3 years residency training look better than a Phd?

Thanks in advance for your help,
Tim

 

[hans19]

If the field of your PhD interests you, do it! If you do a PhD in English literature I don't think it would make you all that more competitive except give you a topic for conversation on your interview. If you do a PhD in medical informatics, it may be a different story. But don't do it just because you think it will help you land a radiology residency. The majority of radiology applicants don't have PhD's, so having one may make you look more attractive, but you certainly don't need one to match.

-H

 

[tim oxford]

thanks hans. It is a radiology phd.
I would really value a few more peoples opinions as well

thanks
tim

 

[theprizefighter]

Hi, tim

A good friend of mind is doing a PhD in brain imaging of neurodegenerative diseases. He wants to be a neuroradiologist and really loves his research. He gets to work with neuroradiologist, brain mapping scientists, and he already has a few abstracts out in just one semester of work. He also likes the PhD because even though he works hard, he still has time for other things like his girlfriend and jogging and such. He really seems happy so hope this helped.

 

[Max_Berry]

No way!!!

Research is not valued in the U.S. at all and will only make you very tired and poor. It is far better to start your Radiology training instead as it is a good backup plan. Your US IMG status places you at the bottom of the barrel of applicants. This means any research heavy University, i.e. "top tier," will never even see your application. Oddly, an MD/PhD will also make "lower tier" programs screen you out too.

If I had to do it over again, I'd do a one year research exchange at my most desirable University to make the contacts.

To tell the truth, the UK and other EU countries offer many advantages over U.S. once your residency is completed. However, the U.S. is unbeatable for residency training.